Acoustics and Vibrations
Active noise control in aircraft cabins, noise and vibration
control in adaptive composite structures, material tailoring
for noise control, actively conformable airfoils, atmospheric
sound propagation, ultrasonic position sensing, sonic booms,
active-passive hybrid structural controls, semi-active dynamic
absorbers, chassis dynamics model, vehicle powertrain noise
and vibration, rotor stability augmentation, active-passive
rotor blade vibration control.
Bioengineering
Fluid transport (blood, food, drugs), melting/freezing
of tissue, mechanical implants, advanced diagnostic visualization,
medical instruments, microdosimetry (effects of small amounts
of radiation at the sub-cellular level).
Combustion and Propulsion
Supercritical jet breakup of combustion, solid propellant
ducted rocket studies, structural/ballistic risk assessment,
non-intrusive IR diagnostic systems, particle laden shear
flows in solid fuel ramjets, flame spreading over aluminum
sheets, ignition and combustion of metal particles, flame
structure of solid and liquid propellants; high-pressure
chemistry of hydrocarbon fuels, combustion and emissions
of spark ignited and diesel engines, combustion chemistry
of rocket propellants, soot particle formation and destruction
in diffusion flames, disruptive burning/ignition of aluminum
slurry propellants, multi-component fuel droplet vaporization
and combustion, solid rocket propellants, nonlinear combustion
instabilities in liquid propellant and rocket motors and
gas turbine engines, and gasification of coal/water slurry
fuels, emissions and stability of lean premixed gas turbine
combustors.
Energy and Environment
Batteries, including reduced size, improved safety (thermal
run-away and toxic chemicals) and in-vehicle energy delivery
systems.
Fuel cells, including both stationary and portable applications
(largest potential for applications is in the information
technology area where portable power supplies are of major
interest).
Power generation without greenhouse gases:
1. Design of Generation IV nuclear power plants;
2. Life-extension of existing nuclear power plants;
3. More efficient operation of current nuclear plants (longer
fuel cycles and higher fuel burnups).
Monitoring (development of sensitive non-radioactive and
non-toxic tracers that can be studied with neutron activation
analysis to study groundwater and other environmental tracers).
Adaptive Environmental Systems (smart systems that control
environmental parameters such as vibrations, fluid flow and
heat transfer).
Improved utilization of existing fuels and technologies
and new technology to minimize energy expenditures and foster
decreases in pollution levels.
Fluid Mechanics
Bio-fluid mechanics of human swallowing (pharynx, esophagus,
and stomach); simulation, structure and dynamics of high
Reynolds number turbulence; simulation, modeling and measurement
of the atmospheric boundary layer; application of computational
fluid dynamics to turbomachinery; interaction of acoustic
waves with sprays; simulation of furnace flows; precessing
jet flow; non-dilute spray jets breakup; Euler equation solutions
for marine propellers; drag of turbulent boundary layers;
solar propulsion engines flowfield analysis; coupling between
gas dynamics and microwave energy absorption; space propulsion
engineering; separation bubble stability; rocket nozzle boundary
layer transition; tip vortex generation; gas dynamics of
a variety of topics including: advanced materials synthesis
and processing, industrial and manufacturing processes, and
high-speed aerodynamics and propulsion; supersonic nozzles
and jets; particle-laden high-speed flows; high-speed imaging
of rapid physical processes; airflows associated with the
thermal plume of the human body; the development of advanced,
non-intrusive optical flow diagnostic instruments.
Heat and Mass Transfer
Advanced reactor vessel cooling; rocket exhaust ducts;
packed beds; transverse acoustic wave interaction with a
boundary layer; very high pressure gas compressors; laser-materials
processing; casting and welding of alloys; freeze coating;
measurement of radiative properties of solids, liquids, and
gases; radiative heat transfer modeling; transient natural
convection in liquid metals; electromagnetic field effects,
waste heat recovery by phase change particles; two-phase
heat and mass transfer studies: boiling, condensation, absorption,
melting, solidification; heat exchangers, fouling in heat
exchange equipment; mine-waste leachate studies; heat and
mass transfer in battery and fuel cell systems.
Information Technology
Algorithm development for complex transport phenomena (involving
multiscale phenomena in the areas of materials processing,
turbulence, sprays, plasma cutting, boiling); data mining
(interpretable data from turbulence simulations); visualization
of highly complex systems (including virtual reality environments);
distributed collaborative design and optimization (information
sharing, joint design, web based design, and multidisciplinary
optimization framework for complex problems solved by geographically
distributed teams); improvements in the operational limits
of nuclear power plants through enhanced instrumentation,
controls, simulation and information management.
Measurement, Sensing and Control
Fuzzy Control Digital control systems, servo drive control,
medical robotics, health and usage monitoring and life extending
control of aircraft, rocket engines, and power plants; information-based
maintenance of mechanical systems, active vibration isolation
for microgravity environment, robust and on-line control
of active magnetic bearings, simultaneous optimization of
dynamic performance and structural durability, stochastic
modeling of material degradation, nonlinear control of fatigue
and fracture processes, life extending control of mechanical
structures, noncontacting laser vibrometers, sorting food
products with computer vision, automated tooling systems,
vehicle powertrain control, model of clutch nonlinear dynamics
via neural networks.
Mechanical
Systems & Design
Shape optimal design, rule-based simulation for positioning operations, flexible
oscillator edge breaking/beveling machine, robotic manipulators, human osteometric
atlas and cranial modeling, variable gravity systems, rotary automatic component
analysis and design, compliant mechanisms, design of smart structures, finite
element methods and design sensitivity analysis, and manufacturing process modeling.
Nano/Microscale Science and Engineering
Fluid
transport at nanoscales (large molecules in bio-related
system); materials processing and manufacturing (crystal
growth, chemical vapor deposition, laser processing and
manufacturing, charge transport and related issues in semi-conductors,
photon generation, control and transport in optical fibers);
integrating advanced materials into the design of micro
and nanoscale mechanical systems (utilizing and integrating
smart materials into MEMS (micro electrical mechanical
systems); coupling of phenomena at nanoscale with those
at larger scales (multi-scale simulations), such as multiscale
modeling of radiation damage and degradation processes
in materials exposed to nuclear reactor environments; visualization
of phenomena at small length scales; nuclear techniques
for atomic scale materials characterization.
Transportation
Vehicle dynamics; vehicle-road and vehicle-bridge interaction;
weigh-in-motion systems; automatic vehicle location systems;
vehicle-vehicle and vehicle-roadside infrastructure crash
safety; testing vehicles for safety, performance, structural
integrity, fuel economy, handling, and noise; road surface
characteristics and their effects on skid resistance, ride
comfort, and dynamic tire forces; design of vehicle operator
work station; slip resistance of walking surfaces; electric
and hybrid electric vehicles.
Tribology
Analysis of foil bearing in cryogenic applications; analysis
and experiments in friction and wear, rolling element bearings,
and elastohydronamic contacts; modeling of mixed-film lubrication.
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